Cindy Agnes begins her holiday preparations in early November. After all, she’s got 8,000 cookies to bake for more than 580 Elevations Credit Union employees.
“This is my way to help our staff feel appreciated. At Elevations, we’re a community,” she said.
Every year, Cindy Agnes, wife of Elevations CEO Gerry Agnes, bakes cookies for every staff member. This year, that means about 8,000 cookies. The process takes at least three stand mixers, three chest freezers, hundreds of eggs, hundreds of pounds of flour, butter and sugar, and countless heaps of holiday cheer.
The tradition of baking for Elevations staff started when Cindy Agnes brought her cookies to a 2008 barbeque. They were a hit. Then she baked cookies for each board member. Now, she’s determined to make each staff member a plate of holiday cookies each December.
“When I see the excitement in people’s eyes as I hand these over, all the preparation is absolutely worth it,” she said. “I want them to feel like they’re part of our family.”
Elevations prides itself on having a caring, connected culture that, in the organization’s words, seeks to be “The best place you’ve ever worked.” Chief People Officer Tammy Teitscheid said Cindy Agnes’s annual cookie-baking supports that culture.
“It shows us this is a fun, caring place to work. I don’t know how you put a price tag on that,” Teitscheid said. “The joy of being a part of this organization is real.”
Annual holiday cookies are just one part of an award-worthy work culture. Elevations was selected as one of the Denver Post's Top Workplaces in 2023, received the Denver Business Journal’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Award in 2022 and 2023 and the Cigna Healthy Workforce designation in 2022. The organization offers tuition reimbursement and paid time off for volunteering.
Cindy Agnes and Elevations CEO Gerry Agnes with boxes of holiday cookies
Varieties of Cindy Agnes’s holiday cookies, ready for Elevations team members to enjoy
Corrine Mellos, Loveland branch manager, Cindy Agnes and Don Cheyne, Elevations board chair, with a box of Cindy Agnes’s holiday cookies